Luke McCarthy Character Analysis in Reckoning

Luke McCarthy is Margaret’s father and Magda’s grandfather. Born in Ireland into extreme poverty, Luke is one of the three of Mary Jane’s 13 children who survived into adulthood. A raging alcoholic, Luke was arrested countless times for petty crimes before being sent to fight in the trenches for Ireland’s War of Independence. Luke returned from the war with shellshock and spent a significant period of Margaret’s childhood in Scotland shell-shock asylums. Peter remembers Luke for being all talk and no action: he would lay brilliant business plans late into the night then laugh about them the next day.

Luke McCarthy Character Timeline in Reckoning

The timeline below shows where the character Luke McCarthy appears in Reckoning. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Morality, Survival, and Perspective Theme Icon

...sea to Ireland, fleeing Protestant clans. Margaret told Magda endless stories of her Irish father, Luke, her mother Meg, and Meg’s sister, who used to run from her father’s house with... (full context)

Margaret told about her father, Luke—a mischievous yet pious man. Though he was forgiving he was unable to forgive his cousins... (full context)

...people as they trace their family history; the show’s crew had found “juicy” details about Luke McCarthy, Magda’s grandfather. Although Magda is not curious about Luke or Ireland, she agrees to... (full context)

From Margaret, Magda learned that Luke was funny, talkative, and a big drinker; however, her aunt Mary told her of Luke’s... (full context)

...of dead bodies had pointed to this history. How will Magda tell Margaret that only Luke lived to reproduce? (full context)

The next day, Magda goes to Factory Street in County Laois to see Luke’s childhood home: a tiny cottage with a dirt floor where 15 people lived. Magda wonders... (full context)

From Elizabeth, Magda obtains a sheet listing teenage Luke’s arrests, all involving drunkenness. Once, Luke tried to rob a Protestant church and was jailed... (full context)

From Ireland, Magda goes to Scotland; at Edenhall, where Luke was hospitalized for shell shock, Magda meets a researcher of war trauma, Yvonne McEwen. As... (full context)

Afraid that Magda is learning only horrible things, Margaret insists that Luke was fun. Yvonne says that shell shock patients were treated cruelly, but Margaret claims that... (full context)

...Margaret and Peter’s recliners. Magda wishes that Peter were there. She also wishes that Meg, Luke, Jadwiga, Mieczysław, Andrzej and Danuta were there: she wants to tell them how well Peter... (full context)